Showing posts with label It support services. Show all posts
Showing posts with label It support services. Show all posts

Monday, 22 February 2016

Remote IT Support in UK

Desktop IT Support

Remote IT Support

In many cases we can completely diagnose and fully repair your software problems and network problems via remote support, which will save time – we will not need to travel out to you. It will also save you money – we don’t charge a call-out fee for remote support. You only pay for the time needed for the work to be completed.
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Friday, 20 November 2015

FreePBX – convert WAV call recordings to MP3

convert-wav-to-mp3

One of our customers recently reported an interesting issue. They were running FreePBX on a machine with a very small amount of hard drive space. Usually, this would not be an issue, as FreePBX can be installed easily onto a small drive, even less than 10GB (I have a moment of reflection now, thinking that actually 10GB is massive!!)

In any case, when you start recording calls on a system, the free space is quickly eaten up.
Within FreePBX, there is no way to set the call recording to MP3, and as a result, large WAV files are created.
See more...]

Saturday, 26 September 2015

How to Remake DAHDI from source

You need to retrieve the correct kernel-devel for the kernel of linux you are running, and remake DAHDI from source
SSH onto the machine and run:
uname -r
Note the kernel version. then, google for kernel-devel (kernel version)
find a suitable download source (i.e. from rpm.pbone.net)

Read More...

Thursday, 26 June 2014

Countdown to End-of-Support for Windows XP

Support for Windows XP ends
On April 8th 2014, Microsoft will end support for its decade-old Windows XP. This means, you will no longer receive security updates, fixes or online technical support for PCs still running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003. The security and privacy implications of this event could have significant impacts on your business, so if you’re running either of these products you should plan to take action soon.
As a precaution, we would recommend all our clients to consider upgrading to the latest supported operating systems such as Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. Customers migrating to these platforms will benefit from enhanced security, broad device choice for a mobile workforce and higher user productivity.
Why upgrade now?
  1. No support: Microsoft support, including online and phone-based technical support, will end. As a result both Jaytag and any other IT support company will not be able to properly support Windows XP.
  2. Security Risks: Critical security updates will stop, making machines much more vulnerable to viruses. Hackers are waiting to take advantage of this insecurity. If your computer gets a virus your machine will not only not perform properly – it may shut down entirely. Moreover, you are at risk for losing files and having your personal and business information stolen. Anti-virus software will also not be able to fully protect you once Windows XP itself is unsupported.
  3. Compliance: Businesses that are governed by regulatory obligations may find that they are no longer able to satisfy compliance requirements e.g. PCI compliance.
- See more...

How Cloud Storage Could Help Your Small Business

Cloud Storage is the term used to describe using an online facility to store your information. These are usually operated by a third party company using data centres and there are a number of different operators providing it such as Dropbox, Skydrive, My Secure Backup, and Google Drive.
Cloud storage is an increasingly popular concept, and many small businesses are embracing it to help them. But how can cloud storage help a small business?
One popular use of cloud storage is to store your important documents such as databases, spread sheets or client projects. By doing this, it doesn’t matter if your computer breaks down, is stolen, or the file is otherwise lost; you will be able to successfully retrieve it from your cloud. You can usually set up an automatic synchronisation, so that when you save a document to a certain folder in your PC, the cloud storage facility you use will pick it up and automatically save it there too. Alternatively if you log onto your cloud storage remotely from a remote device or there web site you can upload/maintain documents and these will automatically synchronise/update on your home computer.
It is also a secure way of storing your information. You can change privacy settings of the documents so that it can only be accessed by yourself, people listed, or people who you pass the link to. This allows you to share it with people if you need it, or stash it away in a private folder if it isn’t something you want to share.
The cost of cloud storage can be considerably lower than other solutions, with many companies offering you a small amount of start-up storage for free, with higher amounts becoming available to you for a small fee, often on a monthly subscription basis.
So lets take a look at the four services I previously mentioned and see what they have to offer:
Dropbox 

Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud storage facility which comes with an initial 2GB, which can be expanded to fit your requirements.
- See more...

Windows Server updates failing – Error 80072EFD

You may have found that your Windows Server won’t update via Windows Updates Services and the following error message is displayed on screen.

error2 

One issue which causes Windows Updates to fail with error 80072EFD is if the Windows Server is pointing at itself or another Server on the network to find the updates.

To check this click Start > Run > type “regedit”, and accept the UAC prompt to continue.

regedit 

Now navigate to HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate.

- See more...

Wednesday, 25 June 2014

Windows XP Recovery Console – KB310994 download

To manually install the Windows Recovery Console, you have to have the necessary updates. It seems Microsoft have removed the link to the recovery console that used to be linked to from here.

This makes running tools like ComboFix for example, quite difficult.

I’ve sourced the files (at least for SP2 and up) they are mirrored here:

windowsxp-kb310994-sp2-home-bootdisk-enu.exe – For Windows XP Home SP2 and newer.
windowsxp-kb310994-sp2-pro-bootdisk-enu.exe – For Windows XP Professional SP2 and newer.
To install for combofix use, you can download the file to your PC and drag and drop onto the combofix.exe file, as detailed here.

- See more...

Monday, 19 May 2014

Send test email via telnet

It’s often useful to test an email server manually – to ensure the port is open and redirected properly, and also that the server is delivering messages to the mailbox correctly.
Here is how to send an email manually with telnet:

Open a command prompt on the PC you will send the test email from telnet server.server.com 25​

HELO jaytag.co.uk (response will be 250 OK)

MAIL FROM:dmcmillan@jaytag.co.uk (response should be 250 OK – mail from dmcmillan@jaytag.co.uk)

RCPT TO:james@stephenrjames.com (response should be 250 OK – Recipient james@stephenrjames.com)

DATA (response should be 354 Send data. End with CRLF.CRLF) - See more...

How to reset a network card in Windows

Open Control Panel
Click Hardware and Sound
Click Device Manager
In Network Adapters, find the LAN card you want to reset – this is often something like:
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller
Intel PRO/1000MT Network Adapter
Right click on the adapter and click Uninstall
You will be warned that this will remove the device from the system – ensure that ‘Delete the driver software’ is *not* ticked if this is shown Note: Clicking OK will disconnect your remote access session if you are connected! - See more...

No DAHDI modules on the system. Not starting

You need to retrieve the correct kernel-devel for the kernel of linux you are running, and remake DAHDI from source
SSH onto the machine and run: uname -r
Note the kernel version. then, google for kernel-devel (kernel version) find a suitable download source (i.e. from rpm.pbone.net) then on the machine rpm -ivh ftp://ftp.is.co.za/mirror/centos/6.5/updates/x86_64/Packages/kernel-devel-2.6.32-431.1.2.0.1.el6.x86_64.rpm - See more...

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

GParted – “Bad sectors” Error Message

When using GParted to resize a partition on a hard drive you have cloned you may notice an exclamation mark on the drive.
exclamation mark1

When you attempt to apply the resize it will most likely fail, and you may receive an error message, similar to the one below, stating that there are “bad sectors” on the disk. - See more...

Office365 – Distribution list blank return path

When you are using Office365, you may find that external email addresses in a distrbution list do not recieve mails sent to the distribution list email address.

Many spam filters will block emails with a blank or empty return path, but Office365 sets this blank as default, to prevent email bounce loops.
This is normal behaviour – a large distribution list shouldn’t distribute a bounce/DSN report to the entire membership.
For a single membership list for use with Zendesk, Help Scout or other similar mailbox monitoring applications, it may be necessary. - See more...

Internet Explorer and HMRC – this file could not be downloaded

If you are unable to download P60, CT100 or VAT forms from the HMRC website, you may need to check that Adobe Reader is working correctly. Often, an issue with the installation will mean the PDF file from the HMRC site will not open automatically. The error message will then appear – “this file could not be downloaded”. Here is how to fix the problem: In Internet Explorer, go to Tools (or the small cog icon) then click Internet Options Select the Advanced tab Check the Do not save encrypted pages to disk option is ticked in the security section Click OK - See more...

Session setup failed: NT_STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER

When trying to link to a Windows Vista, 7 or 8 shared printer from Mac OS 10.6 or newer, you may find that the printer gives this error message.
Essentially, SMB printing from CUPS (the Mac OS printing system) seems broken – it does not pass along the correct user name and password (even when entered manually). The solution is quite long winded… Firstly, ensure that the printer is shared on the Windows machine - See more...

On Hold (Authentication Required) – Mac OSX and Windows printing

The solution to this issue is the same as another error: Session setup failed: NT_STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER We have detailed the solution here.
Read more...

Monday, 14 April 2014

Windows XP Recovery Console – KB310994 download

Windows XP Recovery Console – KB310994 download

To manually install the Windows Recovery Console, you have to have the necessary updates. It seems Microsoft have removed the link to the recovery console that used to be linked to from here.

This makes running tools like ComboFix for example, quite difficult.
I’ve sourced the files (at least for SP2 and up) they are mirrored here: windowsxp-kb310994-sp2-home-bootdisk-enu.exe – For Windows XP Home SP2 and newer. windowsxp-kb310994-sp2-pro-bootdisk-enu.exe – For Windows XP Professional SP2 and newer. - See more...

Office 365 – Set the default domain

When you first setup Office365, Microsoft provides you with a default domain – usually companyname.onmicrosoft.com – for example, the Jaytag domain is jaytag.onmicrosoft.com.


This can cause a small headache – as it’s not obvious when you have added your companies domain where to set this as default – so when you add new users, the primary email address will be emailaddress@companyname.onmicrosoft.com.

To set the default domain to the domain you have added, login to Office365 and click into the adminin - See more...

Installing Ubuntu 8.04 on a Viglen MPC-L

minipc 

The Viglen MPC-L (<– PDF link) is a low powered (both in terms of CPU speed and power consumption) compact computer. They are extremely similar to the Linutop machine (i.e. identical) and are actually an FIC ION 503 under the hood. It comes preinstalled with xubuntu, a version of ubuntu that substitutes the gnome window manager with XFCE. Better still, email Duncan Hargreaves at Viglen (tell them the ubuntu podcast sent you) and you can pick one up for a mere £79. If like us, you are a stickler for utilising similar OS environments for support reasons (including the window manager) then a full install of ubuntu is the way to go. - See more...  

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WordPress Logo

This WordPress error message appears when a plugin update fails half way through. The fix is extremely simple: FTP to your WordPress installation directory Delete the .maintenance file at the root wordpress folder (where wp-config.php lives) Login and retry the plugin operation - See more...

Sage Accounts

Sage Accounts: Username in use 

Sage Logo

This is a very common issue with Sage – if the program crashes for whatever reason, you are unable to log back into the program. Before you start! I’d always recommend taking a backup of the company files before making any changes to Sage program or data files – just in case! The Sage file database system is a little antiquated and can be temperamental. The fix itself is simple: Browse to the Sage company file directory on your computer (this will vary, although if you check the COMPANY file in your install directory, it will be listed) Open the ACCDATA directory Delete the queue.dta file - See more...